RECAP: March USU Board Meeting

Pulp checks up on your student representatives.

The meeting opens on Zoom at 1:04pm. All the Board Directors except for Oscar Bai are present, along with USU CEO Alexis Roitman. They start by approving the minutes of the last meeting, and then move to question time. 

Pulp asks the Board: Does the Board have any perspectives on potential changes to academic regulations as a result of COVID-19 (e.g. moving to pass/fail units, delaying census date or expanding special considerations)? Will you be pushing for any changes?

Board President Connor Wherrett explains that, in the midst of the University scrambling to respond to the crisis, the Board hasn’t formally discussed their stance on the issue yet. He argues that student advocacy regarding COVID-19 is more the role of the SRC, and suggests that the USU could potentially support the SRC in doing that. Additionally, the Board approved signing a National Union of Students (NUS) petition calling for a range of measures to protect student welfare including increasing Youth Allowance and Newstart payments and a moratorium on evictions, among other demands.

USU CEO Alexis Roitman argues that academic decisions have a national and international context; the University likely wants students’ qualifications to remain consistent. This, of course, may change given the recent decision of UNSW engineering to move to pass/fail units. 

Next we move to amendments to the regulations in order to allow for online voting. These are temporary provisions which will be out of effect next year; hopefully we’ll go back to normal in 2021. Board Directors Maya Eswaran and Decheng Sun oppose the amendment, with Maya explaining that while she respects the work that went into it, she remains uncomfortable with online elections. Nonetheless, the motion carries. 

A second set of general amendments is proposed. They are designed by council secretary Dane Luo to “fix up” regulations. These all seem intuitive and pass unanimously. 

The final amendment attempts to give the board more discretion regarding the USU’s student leadership positions, for example Campus Activity Coordinators, PopFest Creative Directors, and indeed Pulp Editors. It changes the wording of the Regulations so that the Board is no longer obliged to fill these roles or hire a certain number of students. Alexis Roitman speaks in favour of the amendment on the basis that it will allow more flexibility for the board from a financial and staffing perspective, particularly in these uncertain times. Board Director Nick Forbutt notes that the USU values these roles and believes student leadership is important. Maya Eswaran asks for an action point to review the amendments next year; while they might make financial sense for now, they can be changed back easily. 

The Board goes in camera for a while, which means we can’t watch. We finally return at around 3pm to watch the Board go through a couple of reports: from the CEO and secretariat; Finance; Commercial Operations; Sales, Marketing and Membership; Innovations; Facilities; and the Executive. 

These reports were largely written before COVID-19 really ramped up, so some aren’t entirely relevant, however there are a couple of highlights. In the discussion surrounding the Finance report, we get an insight into the USU’s worrying financial position. They briefly mull over selling shares to get some cash, although it’s noted that selling shares at the moment may not be very profitable. Another point of discussion reveals that the USU’s insurance has been managed by the People and Culture department, which Alexis Roitman points out makes no sense. In the Commercial Operations section, however, the Board congratulates itself on closing Manning Bar, which has proved to be good for their budget. 

Despite the win with Manning, it doesn’t seem like all is well. Discussing Membership, Roitman says, a little morbidly, “We had an excellent Welcome Week… let’s hope we live to see another one”. 

There’s also some discussion about ACCESS Rewards membership and how to make sure Rewards members get their money’s worth. Nick Forbutt argues that the USU should focus on ensuring Rewards are also delivered through the USU’s online services, which he believes is important for keeping members satisfied. Roitman argues that members will “understand”, although Decheng Sun notes that several members have already expressed disappointment and asked for refunds. Connor Wherrett concludes the discussion, reassuring everyone that “our intention is to provide a Rewards level experience to everyone with Rewards” and that the USU will find “creative ways” to do that. 

The Facilities report refers to building a coolroom for Fisher Coffee Cart; given the cash flow problems the USU is experiencing, they decide it’s worth reviewing that decision. Roitman says she doesn’t want the USU to buy anything or sign any contracts or leases until there is more certainty about the USU’s direction. 

In the Executive report, Connor Wherrett defends the USU’s decision to close Manning Bar’s regular trading hours but emphasises the need to manage public reactions to the move (although this is the “least of concerns” for the USU at the moment). He also notes that, given the impending departure of Vice Chancellor Michael Spence, he has asked for the USU Board to be involved in choosing Spence’s replacement. 

The meeting closes at 3:27pm. Wherrett remarks, “Zoom Board meeting… that’s one for the history books. Someone has to tell Michael Kirby… When they founded the Board 147 years ago, did they ever envision that Board meetings would be done like this?”